EastWest, NorthSouth
by KnucklePuck29
Summary: Why does Emmett decide to go with Guitar Face? What happens at the gig no one will see? How does Bay greet Emmett when he gets back? These questions and more answered in a THREE-SHOT. Bemmett with some Daphne drama.
1. The Apology

**Author's Note: This is the first part of a three-shot. It's going to deal with the events leading up to, of, and after East-West Fest. This bit takes place after the famous "I just want you" and ends just before Toby, Emmett, and Wilke leave for the concert. It's loosely based off a request I got from **Emily (an anonymous reviewer) **in which I was asked to do a Bemmett relationship story with some Daphne interloping. I hope this satisfies you! More to come. I know this isn't quite a Bemmett romance yet, but it's sweet.**

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, alerted, or favorited my other stories. You guys are amazing, and I'm honored to be in such a loyal community!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Switched at Birth _or Aaron Gillespie's one-man band The Almost. (Though I do own the album _Southern Weather,_ and everyone else should, too!)**

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><p>"I just want you," Emmett said, voice slightly rough from disuse.<p>

Those were the best four words Bay had ever heard, and not just because he'd used his voice. Emmett could have let her go and gone for Daphne, but instead he'd chosen her.

Tears coursed down her face as she leaned up to hug him, blurring her vision. She didn't care if the entire student body of Buckner was watching them at that moment; all that mattered was the guy whose arms were secure around her.

Emmett realized how hard Bay was working, and he knew it was just for him. He had been unfair back at the carwash, getting angry just because she had forgotten the sign for bet. Who used that sign on a daily basis, anyway? He used it sparingly himself.

The whole Daphne thing had messed with his head. It was totally unfair for her to unload her newly discovered crush just as she found out he was dating Bay. There was no excuse for it, other than her increasing feeling that everything in her life was going to disappear. To take it out on Emmett, who had loved her for, well, _ever_, was borderline obscene.

Bay was his sure thing. Daphne was grasping at straws.

"Do you need to go to class?" Emmett asked, backing away to let Bay see his hands move.

"I think eighth period can go on without me today," she replied, smiling and sniffing delicately.

Emmett reached up and wiped the tears off her cheeks, glad they were tears of joy this time. He'd had enough of making her upset, and his new aim was to prevent that from happening ever again. She deserved better than a guy who made her bawl all the time.

Bay vaguely heard the bell ring, but everything was toned down to a soft background flutter. She could still hear Emmett's voice reverberating inside her head, giving her the shivers over and over again. It was better than she'd thought it would be, more spectacular than any other voice she'd ever heard. Better than Aaron Gillespie's vocals on _Say This Sooner_. Better than the sound of Toby leaving the house.

The best part was that she hadn't been expecting it.

"We should probably get out of here before a teacher finds us," she said finally, looking around. Everyone had moved into the buildings, which meant Buckner Patrol would be heading outside soon to look for stragglers to write up.

Emmett held out his hand, which Bay took, and headed toward the parking lot. The logistics hadn't really been worked out, seeing how he'd brought his motorcycle and Bay still had her car to worry about, but he wasn't panicked. They'd gone through worse, obviously.

Bay tugged him to her car, figuring that none of the teachers would make the hike up to the student lot just to check for skippers, and hopped over the door. That was just one of the many perks of The Thing: it was unnecessary to open doors.

They settled into the backseat, facing each other. Bay crossed her legs on the leather, putting her backpack in her lap.

"That was probably the best speech ever." She grinned at him, her cheeks aching from the force of her smile. "You didn't have to speak for me. I know you don't feel comfortable."

"I wanted to show you that I wasn't just messing with you," he said, repeating some of her earlier fears. She'd told him once that she thought he was just messing with her, trying to get to Daphne. Now there was no question.

They sat for a while without talking, just watching each other and thinking separate thoughts. Emmett was the first to break the figurative silence, tapping Bay's knee to get her attention.

"I think I'm going to go to that festival with Toby."

"Wait, what? Toby?" she asked, scrunching up her nose in confusion.

Emmett blew up his cheeks, trying to decide if he should just fingerspell or try to teach her the sign for festival. Given the day they'd both had, he decided to go easy on her and fingerspell.

"F. E. S. T. I. V.—oh, festival! You mean East-West Fest with Wilke and Toby." Bay smiled, but then her face fell into a frown. "Are you sure you want to do that? Daphne and I can't go, and it'll be thousands of hearing people."

"I sort of owe Toby. Besides, I'll teach him some basic sign. He's cool when he isn't being…"

"Stupid?" Bay guessed, laughing. "He's always stupid. Why do you owe him?"

"He made me realize something. Anyway, it's not a big deal. I want to help him out."

"Sounds good. I'm sure you'll be awesome; I wish I could go." Bay reached over and grabbed his hand, twining their fingers together. "I was sort of distracted the last time I heard you drum. You guys will have to give all of us a private performance."

"Definitely," Emmett signed, grinning.

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><p>"Holy crap, man! Seriously?" Toby exclaimed, slapping a double high-five with Wilke.<p>

Emmett nodded, looking at Bay to see her reaction. She was smiling and looking at her brother, oblivious to what he'd done for her. Toby was pretty much the entire reason they were back together on such solid ground. He'd made Emmett see how much Bay mean to him and how much he meant to her. Toby had made everything fall into place.

"This is gonna be so cool," Wilke said, using the sign Toby had taught him. Toby had been spending some quality time with a few ASL sites, having snuck the list out of Bay's room. They were all benefiting, especially Emmett.

"What's going on?" Daphne asked, coming into the living room where the group was gathered.

"Emmett agreed to play East-West Fest with us!" Toby signed as best he could, but all he got out was Emmett, play, and with us.

Daphne got the gist, and she also saw how close Emmett was standing next to Bay. Her heart clenched into a fist, but all she could feel was jealousy. Had he agreed to go because Bay asked him?

"I thought you didn't want to go," she signed, trying to keep the others out of the conversation.

Bay scowled, knowing what Daphne was saying, but let Emmett speak for himself. He'd chosen her, after all, and she didn't want to give him a reason to be angry with her again.

"I changed my mind. We're leaving in a week." Emmett shrugged, hooking his thumbs in the pockets of his jeans.

"You guys can take my car," Bay volunteered, pretending she didn't see the frustrated, longing looks Daphne was sending Emmett. "You'll need to _haul_ your equipment."

"Okay, so we're glad you bought The Thing. Don't rub it in," Toby said, coming over to give his little sister a noogie. "Thanks."

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><p>Later that night, Bay sat down to begin designing a logo for Toby's band, Guitar Face. She wanted to make Emmett a front for his bass drum and a few dozen stickers for Toby and Wilke couldn't hurt. They could pass them out and put them on their guitars, amps, and other instruments. Guitar Face would be fashionable, if not appreciated.<p>

She'd gotten about halfway through the beginning stage when there was a knock on her garage door.

Daphne stood in the doorway, outlined by the sunlight streaming into the room. Her expression was dark, which made Bay a little wary.

"Hi," Bay said, waving a little. "What's up?"

"What did you say to Emmett to make him go?" Daphne asked, crossing her arms and resting her hip against a table.

"Nothing." Bay's eyes widened. "He decided on his own."

"He's acting different. He doesn't talk to me as much as he used to."

"I'm sorry, but that's not my fault. I've never told him not to hang out with you. I get that you're friends, and I'm not going to stand in the way of that." Bay put down her pencil and started tapping her fingernails against the desktop.

"I don't believe you."

"That sucks."

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><p><strong>Please review! I really love the feedback :) Stay tuned for the next chapter, which should be up soon.<strong>


	2. The Fest

**Author's Note: Aw, you guys are so great! I'm glad you're liking this story. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, faved, and alerted! You're amazing :) Here's part two, in which Guitar Face SHREDS! Look for the final part sometime in the next few days.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Switched at Birth, _Cold War Kids, or East-West Fest!**

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><p>Emmett closed his phone and looked out at the open road. They had just gotten within the twenty-mile mark of their destination, and he was beginning to feel a little nervous. He had gotten tons of reassurance from both Bay and Daphne, but even their encouragement couldn't stave off the gnawing, rolling sensation in his stomach.<p>

Toby and Wilke had blasted their Cold War Kids tracks the entire way, turned up to a volume even Emmett could feel. Bay was going to get her car back with one less subwoofer if they kept this up on the way home. Emmett was stuck perusing the lyrics in the backseat, wondering how the words sounded strung together in a melody. All he could feel were the ringing bass tabs on _Hang Me Up to Dry_ and the snaps of the snare drums.

Emmett didn't really understand why there was so much preparation for a fifteen minute set, but he appreciated the guys' willingness to practice. Their addiction to loud music helped him out, letting him feel the rip of the guitar, and he was beginning to like playing with them.

He felt a buzz in his hand and looked down to see who had texted him.

Bay: _Are you guys there yet? Let me know which bands are around!_

Emmett shot back a quick reply, promising to tell her when they arrived and keep her posted on the acts that played before and after them. They would be staying one night in a hotel, then drive back right after their set. Toby had insisted on seeing a few of the acts before them, so they had decided to drive up the night before.

"It's going to be awesome, man!" Toby had cried, showing Emmett the list of acts. "Can you believe we're playing in the same festival as these guys?"

"No," Emmett answered dutifully, figuring Toby wanted to revel in their accomplishment.

"Damn right!" With that, Toby had climbed back into the car and directed them toward St. Louis.

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><p>Wilke had booked them a suite of rooms in a nice hotel near the venue. Emmett had never stayed in such a plush, expensive place before. He was used to the occasional Best Western or Holiday Inn when his parents dragged him around to various cities.<p>

"Welcome to the life," Wilke told him, after Toby had translated his reaction to the price.

Emmett wondered how much five hundred dollars would have bought in meatball subs, but he kept his hands still after that. Wilke wasn't going to apologize for anything, and he certainly wasn't going to donate any cash to charity.

He liked Wilke and Toby, in the way that some people liked those annoying commercials on TV that got stuck in your head. You had to laugh at them because they were just so genuinely silly. They had so many jokes and strange ways of saying things that Emmett got lost a lot, but in general he had a good time with them.

"I'll take the pull-out couch," Emmett offered, gesturing to the sofa in question in case Toby didn't know what he was saying.

"Okay. Better sleep now, because tomorrow we're going to rock!" Toby and Wilke disappeared into their respective bedrooms, leaving Emmett alone in the giant sitting room.

Emmett put his bags in the corner and proceeded to fix his bed, deciding to text Bay when he was finished. The sofa wasn't difficult to pull out, but he almost dropped one of the heavy metal legs on his foot. The mattress had a sort of lump in the middle, but he figured he could stick it out for one night.

_Hey, we made it to the hotel. Toby and Wilke are going to sleep._

_Yeah, right,_ Bay replied quickly, sending him a sarcastic smiley. _Like they're in bed for good at nine o'clock. Watch for them to sneak out later._

Emmett frowned. _You think they will? They seemed like they wanted to rest for tomorrow._

_Trust me, they'll go look for some girls at the pool._ He could envision Bay's mischievous smile as she typed this.

_Anyway, I just wanted to say goodnight and let you know we were here. I'll talk to you before we go onstage._

_Good luck! I'll be thinking good thoughts._ Bay ended with another smiley, this one with its tongue stuck out. He laughed silently to himself, wondering when he had gotten the idea to date a girl who used emoticons in her text messages.

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><p>The next day, the butterflies in Emmett's stomach were going at warp speed. He had his drumsticks clutched tightly in his fist, holding onto them so hard that he assumed he'd be able to see the grain of the wood in his palm. Toby had given him a thumbs-up when they walked into the backstage area, but it didn't soothe the headache that was building behind his eyes.<p>

"Everyone is, uh, tuning up," Toby told Emmett as they walked through a sea of bands, miming tuning his guitar. "It's really loud."

"Good thing I can't hear," Emmett replied, smirking wryly so Toby wouldn't take it the wrong way. "How long until we go on?"

"About an hour. We're allowed to hang out and watch the other bands perform." Toby gestured to a little area cordoned off on one of the wings, which contained a few skinny guys watching the current performers.

"Wonder how many groupies we'll get after this?" Wilke asked with a laugh, glancing around. "No girls back here worth looking at."

"What about—?" Toby said. Emmett couldn't read his lips well enough to see what the rest of his sentence was.

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her," Wilke replied, which gave Emmett a bad vibe. Poor girl, whoever she was.

Emmett stuck to the side of the stage while Toby and Wilke warmed up and discussed after-show strategy. He sent a steady stream of texts to Bay, letting her know which bands were there and who looked the weirdest. She asked for some pictures, which he sent, and a t-shirt from the festival. He promised to grab one for her before they left.

_Daphne and I are rooting for you_, she texted, along with a picture of the two of them with their rock-on symbols raised.

_You two are lame_, he replied, but sent her a picture of him with Toby and Wilke anyway.

_Rock it out! Don't bring home any groupies_, Bay said.

_I promise. We're about to go on._

Emmett pocketed his phone and twirled his drumsticks between his fingers a few times, trying to get limber. Toby had insisted he wear his signature leather jacket, but he was starting to get a little warm. They were lucky they only had a few songs to play.

"Ready to do this?" Toby asked, holding his hands up for high-fives. Emmett and Wilke obliged him, nodding and shaking themselves out.

Emmett didn't hear their introduction, but he knew to follow Toby as he ran onstage. The lights almost blinded him as he stepped up to the little dais where his drums sat, but he resisted the urge to shield his eyes.

Toby addressed the crowd, playing up the charm and introducing each band mate. Emmett waved when Toby extended an arm towards him, but other than that he had no clue what was going on. He could feel the crowd's roar and the vibrations from the amps that carried Toby's voice across the stadium. Everything was colored in shades of blue and white because of the spotlights trained on the stage, which threw the situation into an entirely surreal, alternative reality.

On Toby's cue, Emmett counted out the beat with his sticks, and then grinned as they launched into _All I Want_. The tempo was familiar, drilled into his chest from the hours and hours of practicing, and he relaxed into the song. He could forget the crowd and the cameras and the other bands, allowing himself to sink into the driving force of the bass drum and the light snaps of the snare.

After the first song, he couldn't differentiate between them. Everything melted into one mind-blowing dream, bleeding into a single experience that he would never _quite_ remember but never forget, either. His head bobbed along to the music, keeping time even when he wasn't drumming a single beat, and his toes tapped in his shoes.

Then, as soon as it had begun, it was over.

"That was _amazing_!" Toby exclaimed, pulling Emmett toward the back door. "I can't believe this was our first real gig! It's all because of you, dude!"

"Seriously, you made my life," Wilke echoed, slapping Emmett on the back.

In truth, Emmett only understood about half of what they were saying. Life raged on around him, whirling in patterns and colors and screeching sound, but he was lost in the middle. He was an island in a tempestuous sea, with the occasional wave lapping up on his shore. Snatches of conversation and wafts of excitement drifted over him, but mostly he was caught in a bubble of indifference.

Girls tried to talk to him as he walked out to The Thing, grabbing his arm and sidling up to him, but he ignored them. All he wanted was to get back to Bay and Daphne and his mother, people who understood him and who he understood. This had been an interesting adventure into the hearing universe, but maybe he would take it slower. He was exhausted.

Some of another band's road crew helped them load their equipment, and Emmett slipped off to a stall to buy Bay a t-shirt. Because he didn't want to make things awkward, he got Daphne a wristband. That way, she couldn't claim that he'd forgotten all about her.

"Come on!" Toby called, waving at him.

Emmett waved to the girl selling the souvenirs, glad she hadn't tried to start a conversation. Loping back over to the car with his purchases in his hands, he took one last look around the compound. It had been a great experience, and he'd learned a ton about how hearing people interacted with each other. All in all, a successful trip.

"Let's head home," he signed, pushing his hair back up into its usual spikes.

"Definitely."

The three boys hopped in their sky blue chariot, cheeks flushed with accomplishment and adrenaline, and set their GPS for Mission Hills.

_And Bay_, Emmett thought with a smile.

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><p><strong>Please review! I'd love to know what you think!<strong>


	3. The Return

**Author's Note: Okay guys, this is the last of the planned parts. I'm toying with continuing this, but I start my Freshman year of college this Friday. I'm not sure how much time I'll have to write on this, or how much inspiration I'll have. Updates may be sporadic, if they come at all. This could stand by itself, but I'm so addicted to the Bemmett pairing!**

**Anyway, thanks to everyone who reviewed, alerted, or faved! I love you guys, you're amazing and the reason I keep going! I hope you like this part. The response to this has been fantastic!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Switched at Birth!_ If I did, they would be back on air next Monday!**

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><p>Bay sat in her art studio, her eyes trained on the canvas in front of her.<p>

It was five in the morning, but inspiration had struck so hard that it woke her from a deep sleep. She immediately got dressed, threw on some combat boots, and raced down to the garage where all her supplies were kept. Her mother was in the kitchen when she ran through, so shocked to see her daughter up before noon on a Sunday that she nearly spilled her coffee.

By the time Bay got set up, picked out the colors she'd imagined using, and had the outline ready in her mind, the buzz of excitement in her stomach was beginning to crescendo. It felt like something big, something that would top almost every other work she'd completed over the years. Even though the picture was still in her mind's eye, she couldn't wait to show Emmett.

She worked for hours, stopping only to get a glass of orange juice and accept one of the biscuits her mother brought out to her. The color flowed from her brush like an extension of her, forming lines and curves and waves until she saw in front of her what she'd seen in her head.

The pure burst of creativity had taken everything out of her, but she knew it was worth it. By the time lunch rolled around, she was covered in paint and reclining happily in one of the chairs set up in the middle of the room. Every bit of her was satisfied, reveling in the pleasure of finishing a great painting that she had been unable to forget.

She let her eyes rove over the different pieces of the work: the texture of the blues, worked up like a whirling Van Gogh painting; the harsh slashes of the reds and oranges that made up the most dynamic bit; the sweeping melodrama of the greens and purples. Oh, she wanted to dive into the canvas and never resurface.

Just as she was preparing for another round of back-patting, she heard The Thing pull into the driveway, trailer jostling and engine rumbling. Her heart sped up, an entirely different kind of anticipation lighting her up from the inside. Emmett had been gone for two days, and she'd missed him more than she thought she would.

Bay went to the door, leaning against the frame as she watched the guys unload all their equipment. She wondered if everything had paid off, or if Toby regretted lugging all that stuff four hours across the state for a fifteen minute gig.

Before Bay could make a move to greet the trio, Daphne bounded down the guesthouse stairs and launched herself into Emmett's arms. The only consolation was the look of shock and slight confusion on Emmett's face, and the fact that he pushed her away in about five seconds.

"I'm glad you're back!" Daphne said, hands flying. "It's been weird without you around."

Bay rolled her eyes. It was the weekend, it's not like she missed him at school for two days. At least Bay had a normal routine she could revert to without Emmett to hang around with.

She saw Emmett hand over a wristband of some sort, which Daphne exclaimed over like it was a Dalmatian puppy. Not that Bay was analyzing her actions or anything.

Finally deciding to make her presence known, Bay strode out of the garage with a smile.

"Toby, Wilke! You didn't kill my boyfriend, how kind of you." She smirked, roughing up her brother's hair as she passed him on her way to Emmett.

"We had to reel him back from all the groupies," Toby joked, picking up an amp and lugging it toward his garage.

"Ha ha, very funny." Bay stopped near Emmett and Daphne, waiting until they finished their conversation before waving to get their attention.

"Hey!" Emmett smiled, reaching over to grab her into a hug.

Bay hugged him back, resting her face against his shoulder. With his arms around her, she could ignore the glare Daphne was probably sending her. She could also ignore the comedic stylings of Dumb and Dumber as they finished unloading the trailer, joking the whole time.

When they parted, he held out a dark blue t-shirt. She opened it up, grinning as the East-West Fest logo was revealed, along with dates. It was the coolest thing a guy had ever gotten her, and she applauded his taste and size choice.

"Thank you, it's great," she said, kissing him quickly. "I want to show you something."

Emmett waved to Daphne, signing that he would see her later, and followed Bay into her studio. Her hands were covered with paint, which gave away one part of her secret. He loved the way she always had colors up to her elbows when she was working really hard on a painting.

"I just did this today," she said, standing next to an explosion of vibrant colors. "What do you think?"

"It's amazing," he signed absently, too busy looking at every inch of the canvas to actually pay attention to what he was saying.

Bay grinned, watching him study her work. It was nice to finally have someone to share this with; someone who didn't think her use of color was too loud or squint their eyes and turn their head like they were missing something. Emmett got her, and he got her paintings.

After a few minutes, she waved to get his attention and stepped closer.

"I missed you." She leaned up, wrapping her arms around his neck, and waited.

Emmett caught on quickly, closing the rest of the distance between them and capturing her lips. He'd missed this, the feeling of complete rightness. It was so different with Bay, so much more than he'd ever imagined. He thought this was how it would be when he finally kissed Daphne, but instead he felt this way about a hearing girl. His life was totally backwards.

And he liked it.

Bay smirked into the kiss, glad to have her boyfriend back and not have to share him with Daphne for at least a few minutes. His hands curled around her back, sending a tremor up her spine, and their knees brushed gently. She dragged her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck, nails eliciting a small grunt from him.

The entire time he was gone, she replayed the sound of his voice over and over. It still gave her the chills, in a good way. Although she would give anything to hear it again, she wasn't going to push him. She knew it had taken everything he had to muster up those four words, and it meant the world to her that he'd done it for her.

Just as Bay tightened her grip and moved even closer, she heard footsteps at the door. Breaking away, she looked over Emmett's shoulder and saw Daphne standing there with her arms folded.

_Again? This girl is insane_, Bay thought sighing into Emmett's shirt in frustration.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked, stepping out from behind him to face her sort-of sister.

"I need to talk to Emmett," Daphne replied, raising her eyebrows and gesturing to the boy in question. Emmett frowned, still irritated at the interruption.

"Go ahead," Bay told him, smiling tightly. "I'll be here."

He kissed her on the cheek, and then followed Daphne out to the driveway. There was no telling what she wanted, but he assumed it wasn't good since she'd come in while he and Bay were kissing.

"Okay, you needed to talk?" He tried not to adopt a defensive posture, settling instead on hooking his thumbs in his pockets.

"I'm still not okay with you and Bay," she said, cutting straight to the point. "Did you even tell her we kissed?"

"No, and I don't want you to, either." Emmett glanced back at the garage, hoping Bay wasn't watching them. "I'll tell her when I'm ready."

"Didn't it mean anything to you?" Daphne reached out, like she was going to kiss him again.

"Not what it meant to you," he replied, backing up a few steps. "Look, I already told you: I'm with Bay. You and I had our chance, eight years' worth, but now it's too late."

"Emmett—wait, please?"

"We'll talk later, when you get over whatever this is."

Emmett headed back to Bay's garage, feeling significantly worse than he had a mere five minutes ago. Why did Daphne have to throw a wrench in his life at the precise moment he'd gotten everything together?

And why was she so intent on getting him away from Bay?

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><p><strong>Please review! I want to know what you think! Thanks for reading :)<strong>


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